Servants be righteous – Live well

The message of tonight is mainly for people who are serving, but even if you do not serve here in this Church, the message is still relevant to you. The bible says, ‘’ whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord’’ – see [Colossians 3:23], directly or indirectly so, you are serving God, even if you do not serve in Church.

In [1 Samuel 2:12] it says, ‘‘the sin was great before the Lord’’, these people never feared the Lord. They were born in a village where they were supposed to become priests because their Father was a priest. The promise of God was with them that they will serve as priests. Sons of Eli knew that they are priests because of the promise of the lord upon their lives but as they served they started to despise the works of God.

Samuel grew up with the sons of Eli; while they were despising the work of God, he was focused on the work of God. Samuel did not make an excuse with the sinful nature of Eli’s sons. When they started to sleep with women right in the house of God. Eli made a mistake by not preventing them from serving, he was supposed to rebuke and correct them. When he heard about their wrong doings, he just asked them about it but allowed them to proceed serving the Lord.

How does he receive this favour? It is not because of his serving but it is because of how he lives his life. In God it is not about how you serve but it is about how you live. Before your serving can arise to God, check first how you live? Your life can despise the pulpit you are standing on. In verse (23), though speaking to Eli, God does not say, why are your sons doing evil, He held him accountable for allowing this conduct to continue in His (God’s) house. Because the father speaks without taking action, then the blame falls on him, even though he is not the one practising these evil deeds. As a father, if you do not disqualify your sons for their evil deeds without repentance, God will disqualify both you the father and the sons.

It is not the law when a spiritual Father refrains a fallen son from serving in the house of God. God does not live by the law Himself, in this regard it is Him speaking. He then asked Eli saying, ‘’Why do you honour your sons above me?’’, by this it means he preserves his sons instead of fearing the God of that temple – see [1 Samuel 2:29].

God was the one who said, ‘’you will serve before me forever’’ – see [1 Samuel 2:30], and this was the promise of the family but it ceased. I have seen many ministers allow people to continue serving even when they are not repentant, because they think, should that person stop serving who will then perform their roles and they do not know that by so doing they are compromising the Gospel.
‘’I will cut off your strength’’ – [1 Samuel 2:31]. This means God says, I will not be happy about you. When God is not happy with you, you no longer have strength. Some people are tired of serving not because it is normal exhaustion but it is a sign that God has stripped you off his joy, so when you do not live right you lose strength.

If your faith is not accompanied by deeds it is dead, so you cannot come and say, ‘’I have sinned, I have asked for forgiveness, God has graced me’’, afterwards do you change your ways and live up to the ways of God? So when you pray and say, ‘’God forgive me you’’, must be ready to change how you live, by that we are able to know that your faith is alive, your faith produces righteousness.

Faith must first come and it must be accompanied by deeds, so if deeds do not accompany faith, it means there is not faith, verse (31) says, ‘‘there will be no old man’’, their life span is reduced, blessing are cut off, they were serving God without reverence. Be careful how you serve God, it does not affect you alone, it affects the fruit of your womb. Be careful how you live today. When we say in this family there is a generational curse it is not always because of witches, but it is because of how people lived. Don’t you think if you are busy aborting children now, it will stay in your lineage and bind them at a later stage?

So even sons of Eli won’t have joy in their lives, so someone must come and deliver them from what their fathers have done. Many people are blessed going in and blessed going out, but cursed in the field because of how they live. A way of living can bring a curse – serve God with reverence! Do not get used to the presence of God nor his altar. Do not live like the people of the world and expect to serve God. You cannot drink from the cup of demons and the cup of God, can lips that are not clean worship God? Grace teaches us to say no, if people still cannot say no, it means there is no teacher. The moment there is no self-control you must know that there is no grace.

[1Corinthians 9:24], ‘’ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.’’ runners exercise self-control in all things. You cannot serve God without self-control and discipline. There is a crown that doesn’t not withier but how do we receive it? Only when we are disciplined and exercise self-control. Come on, someone need to control his tongue, how he lives and conducts himself. It is not revelations that make us to get a crown, it is not how you pray or fast, but it is by how you live.

Without condemnation there is no repentance, so if you feel condemned, then it means it is time to repent, yet once the Spirit comes, condemnation cannot operate any longer. He enables you to control yourself. Condemnation is not evil, but it is acceptance that you are a sinner, it is the first step to repentance. Paul has a goal, his attention is only on the finish line. People who serve and do not live well are like someone who is boxing the air.

In verse (27), ’’Like a boxer I buffet my body’’. No drumstick formed against you shall prosper! If you are part of the buffet, it means you are buffeted. Paul disciplines his body with hardship, it does not mean that the body does not want to sleep with that lady, watch that pornography. God can never be fooled, Paul is under the grace of God but he does not say I will sin and then ask for forgiveness, because he fears the God that he serves and the work that God has called him to do.

You need to fear what you speak with your mouth. If you do not deal with your body, what comes out from you can be unclean. Some of the gospel is dirty because of the container, contamination comes from the lifestyle. Don’t preach the Gospel while the cup is still a mess, allow God to clean the cup (prepare you and do a complete work first before He sends you).

With many people, it is not that God never washed the cup, they did ask forgiveness but after they mixed the clean cup with dirty dishes again. You cannot go and say that you are the righteousness of God, yet you conduct yourself like the world. When you live righteously people go away and fear speaking about other things because they know that you do not entertain such things.

Being approached by guys does not mean that you are beautiful, look, how many people look at the beauty of the ATM when withdrawing money? You can get a woman in the street or in the house of God, when you go to the house of God, the man needs an Identity document, but at the ATM you just need a pin and money comes out and there is a cue of people wanting to withdraw but when you come to God, you will be asked security questions, such as who are you? What do you want with my daughter? Righteousness is needed!

Paul is saying He does not want to be disqualified after he has preached the Gospel, serving God is with righteousness. You know very well why I am teaching you this. How any times are you going to say I have fallen? I watched porn again? Saying no is as easy as saying yes, what more do you need? People think that people who are living righteously have some supernatural power that prevents them from sinning. Some people worship so nicely but they are disqualified
See [Hebrews 13:7], it says, ‘‘imitate your leaders’’, you cannot be a leader where people cannot imitate you. I hear ministers mess up, they sleep around, while they have children in their houses, yet they cry out loud but they simply ought to imitate their leader.

My father used to say, the way you treat me, your children will do that to you. Be careful people! I am not giving you fear but your obedience and submission counts. You cannot reap what you didn’t plant. If you plant obedience that is what you are going to get. Be careful, whatever you do you are planting. The stupidity of a young person is thinking that you will always be young, they forget they are growing, they will have families, leave childish things, and whatever you do plan and invest.

Consider your manner of living, the outcome of your lives. We have an altar from which whoever serves and worship in the tabernacle, have no right to eat. Look at the outcome of your lives and conduct. God requires a righteous worshipper, when I say worshipper I do not mean those who stand at front and minister. You cannot go on alive the way you do and expect God to be happy. I know you came to Unknown to be blessed but I am blessing you with righteousness.

I might be looking at you and you look okay, but you know how you speak, you know who your friends are, if Bishop can’t know about it or you cannot do it in front of him there is something wrong. Not having a boyfriend in Church does not make you righteous. Live a righteous life, when someone comes to you, fear contamination. The question should not be, is this my husband or not the question should be, is he clean?

[Philippians 2:12], ‘’ So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation’’, these people listened to Paul’s instructions even in his absence. Be careful how you go to the throne of God, do not go with stupidity, your confidence must not be stupidity like Uzzah who tried to touch the tabernacle and died.

The whole time he was servicing the Tabernacle, it reached a point when he touched in a manner of someone who got used to it, you must calculate your every movement before you come to me. It is not ABC to stand in front and sing or stand at the door and welcome people, work out your salvation with reverence, fear God and what you carry. I can’t find myself doing what the world does. Go and be righteous!

What is a worthless deed? The one that comes without a command! When the word of God comes and says, ‘’live like this it is not a worthless deed’’, God has spoken, you are following the Word. This is no to condemn you. I want you to go and think deep, make an introspection. Ask God, ‘’Are you pleased with how I live, and speak?’’.

David had a prayer, it did not end it Psalm 51, his hunger was for righteousness, and he asked God to search him. I don’t know if you hear what I am saying, have reverence in everything that you do, God loves you.

Lastly, lets close with Hebrew 13:8, as it says, ‘’the Lord is the same today, yesterday and forever’’. Time does not change Him, fashion does not change Him. If He did not allow it back then, what more about today. If homosexuality was sin in in the old, it is still sin even today, information and knowledge doses not change God, He stands, that is who He is!

YESHUA; A CITY ONA HILL, THE LIGHT THAT CANNOT BE HIDDEN.